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I have been away for quite some time and I would like to apologize for the disappearance. A lack of an internet connection is to blame. Well, I guess I am to blame, as my lack of paying bills on time caused the lack of internet connection. Sorry, but that shizz was getting expensive. But alas here I am! This time with cheaper internet!!

First off I would like to start by saying that I am going to try my darnedest to blog regularly again, although I am not going to commit to a specific schedule just yet. This is because it is the summertime and I strongly feel that the words “summer” and “schedule” cannot coexist. I try to be outside as much as possible in the summer because for one it is too damn hot in my house, which results in cranky kids and an even crankier mommy. Second of all, summer is just too freakin’ short! You see, I am not fortunate enough to live somewhere that is hot year round. Way up North, here in Canada, we have like eight months of stormy, slippery, freeze-your-b*lls-off winter and then only four or so measly months of actual “summer”, half of which is overcast and rainy. Don’t get me wrong, I love my country and I think it is beautiful, but if i ever win the jackpot the first thing i am doing is relocating to somewhere where it is never below plus 30 Celsius. I am 100% pure summer girl. No really! In September I am already counting down until NEXT summer. I can’t help it. I just love the the feel of the suns rays beating down on me, the balmy breeze in my hair, the clear blue skies and, probably most of all, the luxurious golden bronze hue that my skin obtains. Now wait! Before you start flooding my inbox with scary skin cancer statistics please note that my children and I ALWAYS wear sunscreen when outside and I do NOT lie out in the sun and bake myself to a crisp. It is just that I am outside a LOT during the sunny season and I also happen to tan very easily without doing anything at all. I know right! Please don’t hate. I used to frequent tanning beds regularly when I was in high school but after seeing women who have spent years tanning with faces that resemble cowhide leather and hands look like they belong on an eighty-something year old man, I have opted out. Not to mention the horrific skin cancer stories that are abundant in magazines these days. I won’t lie though (and I know I am not alone on this one), I really love how I look with a tan. My eyes look bluer, my skin looks clearer, I look more toned. I feel way sexier and with a golden glow. There is just something about a suntan that makes you feel healthier and more confident. But these days I depend more on NYC bronzer than UV rays to emphasize it. So just for good measure I am going to take a moment to remind you all to practice safe sun:)

-Always apply sunscreen with a minimum SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 15 to all exposed areas of skin and reapply every two hours and after excessive sweating or swimming. And don’t forget the face! PS-Use more than you think you should as most people don’t use enough!

-Take breaks from the immediate sun and seek shade or go indoors whenever possible. This is especially important between 10am and 4pm, when the suns rays are at their strongest.

-Wear protective clothing like long sleeve shirts when possible. And don’t forget a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses (but make sure the sunglasses you choose actual protect against UV rays, it. Fedoras and floppy straw hats are all the rage this season. Find one you love and wear it!

-Check your body regularly for any spots that weren’t there before or that you are unsure of, or any existing spots or moles that look different in size, color or shape. See a doctor if you have any concerns. Better safe then sorry!

Anyways, back to the blog. In the next few weeks I plan to do a back-to-school blog mini-series, mainly for parents with children who are starting school for the first time. Obviously, being a parent of such a child, I will not really be speaking from experience, however, i have been scouring the internet and magazines for all things “first-day-of-school” in an effort to make my little guy Cody’s transition to kindergarten as painless and enjoyable a possible. And I have found so many awesome tips and tricks on the subject that i feel compelled to share them with other parents going through the same thing. Truthfully, I think I am more afraid then Cody is. I can’t believe my bouncing baby boy is already starting school! I do, like every parent, have my fears and reservations. I worry about him being away from me because he has never been for more then a sleepover at Nana’s and even that was pushing it. I worry about him doing well academically because although he is incredibly smart, and has an incredible vocabulary and did great on his preschool assessment, the one thing he seems to have no interest in is learning his ABC’s. This causes me some worry because obviously a lot of kindergarten is focused on letter identification and sounds, etc. The alphabet is the foundation of reading and writing. However, as a mom said on an amazing parenting website “When a child is reading a book, you cannot tell whether they learned their alphabet at age two or grade two”. And this is true, all children learn at their own pace, and it is when we push too hard that they begin to resent learning, so although I still point out letters in everyday situations and still play ABC’S games and read books with him, I have forced myself to back off when it comes to the whole flashcards, worksheets, etc. Truthfully, i dont blame him for losing interest. I don’t enjoy those things either. And I especially don’t enjoy them in the middle of a beautiful day in the summertime. I do plan too start early with my daughter when it comes to the alphabet, numbers and such. She is 22 months old right now so I haven’t taken it much further than singing the ABC song and pointing out letters, but she can repeat the entire alphabet to me when I say a letter she repeats it and we go through the whole alphabet that way while pointing them out. The reason I want to start early with her is because I took a slack approach to teaching Cody the alphabet and never really took it seriously and I am seeing the results (or lack thereof) of that now with him having no interest and not being able to identify is letters yet.Now with Cody i have taken a more “learning-through-play” approach. And while I haven’t seem amazing results just yet, I am okay with that, because i know that he is having fun and I know i am helping to foster a love for learning. If I keep at it it is bound to sink in sooner or later.

Well I hate to cut this post short but I am about to do just that because I am heading to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep. So be sure to check back regularly over the next few days for my first back-to-school post. I am aiming to do at least one back-to-school post per week until school begins. And come September you can look forward to hearing all about Cody’s journey into kindergarten-dom. Hopefully with him in school from 8am to 1:30pm daily and only one ankle-biter around I will actually be able to post daily. But then again probably not.

And now I leave you with pictures from our family day at Centennial Park which is right by my house and best of all: FREE!:)